LemJ 
JZmm 

#1f O 


Report  of  Thoma 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #770 

0^011^3  + 


3^ 


REPORT  OF  TflOMAS  W.  WAGNER  OF  THE  SINK- 
ING OF  THE  STONE  FLEET  AT  THE  ENTRANCE 
OF  CHARLESTON  HARBOR. 


Fort  Sumter,  Charleston  Harbor,  > 
February  12th,  1862.  \ 


Capt.  Leo.  D.  Walker, 

A.  A.  General: 

In  obedience  to  instructions,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit 
the  following  report  of  the  sinking  of  the  stone  fleet  at  the 
entrance  of  Charleston  harbor  : 

On  the  afternoon  of  December  18th,  a  large  increase  to  the 
blockading  squadron  was  observed.  The  majority  of  vessels 
appeared  to  be  old  whaling  and  trading  vessels.  On  the 
1 9th,  the  weather  being  bad,  not  much  progress  was  made 
in  their  preparations  for  sinking.  A  few  of  the  vessels 
were  stripped.  By  dawn  on  the  morning  of  the  twentieth, 
great  activity  was  observed,  fifteen  vessels  were  placed  in 
line  more  or  less  direct  across  the  main  ship  channel,  about 
four  miles  south  southeast  of  Fort  Sumter  and  three  miles 
east  southeast  of  the  light  on  Morris  Island.  By  evening 
all  had  been  stripped,  dismasted  and  sunk.  From  the  obser- 
vations made,  the  vessels  appeared  to  have  been  placed  in  a 
single,  irregular  line,  with  intervals  of  one  hundred  feet, 
making  a  distance  of  about  (3500)  thirty-five  hundred  feet 
in  extent  from  shoal  to  shoal,  and  completely  occupying  the 
channel.  The  vessels  commenced  to  settle  immediately,  and 
at  the  end  of  a  week  but  little  was  to  be  seen  of  any  of  their 
hulls.  They  have  now  entirely  disappeared.  Large  por- 
tions of  the  wrecks  have,  from  time  to  time,  come  ashore. 
The  position  of  the  blockading  squadron  has,  however,  pre- 
vented any  accurate  survey  being  made. 


On  January  20th  another  fleet  came  to  anchor  off  the 
port.  They  took  up  their  position  in  a  line  extending  from 
the  entrance  of  the  north  channel  southwardly  to  the  main 
ship  channel.  The  vessels  were  mostly  of  a  smaller  class 
than  those  of  December.  They  were  fourteen  in  number — 
barques  and  brigs.  They  were  stripped  and  towed  north- 
wardly to  their  positions,  which  was  on  the  south  edge  of 
the  shoal  known  as  the  Rattle  Snake,  and  opposite  the  en- 
trance of  the  Maffit  Channel,  with  the  exception  of  one  ves- 
sel, which  was  placed  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  shoal  about 
two  and  a  half  miles  east  of  the  other  vessels  and  between 
the  Shoal  and  the  Long  Island  Beach. 

The  line  extended  from  north  to  south,  and,  by  measure- 
ment, six  miles  and  a  half  east  northeast  of  Fort  Sumter — 
the  place  has  been  carefully  noted  on  the  chart  of  the  har- 
bor at  Fort  Sumter.  The  first  four  vessels  to  the  north  of 
the  line  were  sunk  on  the  western  end  of  the  Rattle  Snake 
in  shoal  water,  the  balance  in  four  or  five  fathoms  water,  and 
in  the  track  of  vessels  entering  Charleston  Harbor  by  Maf- 
fit's  Channel. 

The  operations  on  both  occasions  were  superintended  by 
six  armed  steamers  and  a  sailing  frigate. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed,)  THOMAS  W.  WAGNER, 

Major  S.  C.  AcVg  Corn'r  Fort  Sumter. 

(Official,)  R.  S.  Ripley, 

Brig.  Gen.  Commanding. 


peamaLife® 

PH  8.5 


